What a Harvard “A” Means and Other Fascinating News on the Web

The “In” Crowd

Woody Allen famously said that “showing up is 80 percent of life.” Well, showing up (or getting in) seems to go a long way towards getting good grades at Harvard. During a faculty Q&A session earlier this week, Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris summed up the grades this way: “The median grade in Harvard College is indeed an A-. The most frequently awarded grade in Harvard College is actually a straight A.” If you don’t know the difference between a median grade and a most frequent grade, then you get an A-.

Punt, Pass and Click

For years, NFL owners have been competing against their own product. The excellence of just sitting on the couch and watching multiple games makes it more difficult to draw people to stadiums. The NFL has obviously been up to the challenge. But these days, they are facing you on your couch with multiple screens. The solution (they hope): A more immersive, interactive experience at the stadium. Instead of ignoring your family every Sunday, you can go to a stadium and ignore thousands of people.

The Innocent Man

“There was no scientific evidence, there was no eyewitness, there was no murder weapon, there was no believable motive. I didn’t see how any rational, thinking person would say that’s enough for a guilty verdict.” Eventually, the legal system shared Michael Morton’s view of his own murder charges. But it took 25 years.

Rolling Up Their Sleeves

It’s hard to walk into an H&M clothing store without wondering what price workers are paying so that we can can pay so little for some new threads. But now the retailer is taking a major step towards improving working conditions at its supplier factories.

+ If you haven’t checked out NPR’s multipart series on the making of a shirt, you really should.

Going Long

“Nobody realized it at first, but Avi didn’t resurface after his plunge. He was underwater and sinking to the bottom, passing out at some point, for reasons that are still unknown. When he was next seen on the surface, at least eight and a half minutes after he’d jumped, he would be unconscious and in the arms of a rescue diver.” Extreme athletics are more popular than ever. But a death and lawsuit could force us to rethink how much is too much. From Outside: A Death at Tough Mudder.

The Bubble

Bend It Like Brazuca

Adidas spent an incredible amount of time and money on their latest soccer ball called the Brazuca. As the official ball of 2014 World Cup, it could be worth a half a billion dollars. And hopefully, goalies like it better than the last World Cup ball.

Doritos Locos Taco Inventor Dies

Todd Mills passed away last week at the young age of 41. But before that, he led a tireless online campaign to convince Taco Bell to make a shell out of Doritos. If you’ve ever had a Doritos Locos Taco (and some of you must have since the company has sold more than 600 million of them), you have Mills to thank.